In case you missed it!!!! L. J. Shen's THE END ZONE released earlier this week! If you haven't gotten your copy, now's the perfect time...it's a steal right now at $0.99 to celebrate its release!!!
I've got my RAVING review for it down below...surprise, surprise, I loved it! ;) Now for a real surprise....I also have a super awesome excerpt to share from the VICIOUS epilogue that L. J. Shen decided to surprise her readers with!!!
Keep reading to see both the excerpt and my review for THE END ZONE! ;)
THE END ZONE
Author: L. J. Shen
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Designer: Letitia Hasser (RBA Designs)
Photographer: Rafael Catala
Model: Jorge Del Rio (Instagram)
Source: Received an eARC to participate in the
blog tour and give an honest review.
SYNOPSIS
Jolie Louis is a smart girl.She knows that her best friend, Sage Poirier, is a bad idea.He’s a walking, talking cliché. The Adonis quarterback with the bulging biceps and harem of fangirls trailing behind him on campus like a stench you can’t get rid of.Sadly, it is also the very reason she can’t seem to stay away from him.No, wait. That’s not fair. They’re also roommates, at least until May, when they graduate from college.Jolie is already straddling the line between friendship and more when Sage comes to her with an offer she cannot refuse: be his fake girlfriend and live for free for the rest of the semester.She tells herself that she can handle it.He’s just the boy she saved ten years ago, right?Wrong. So very wrong.He is a man now, and she is his captiveHeart, body, and soul…
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L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
ABOUT L. J. SHEN
Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.
She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.
Connect with LJ Shen:
EXCERPT
Excerpt from the Vicious extended epilogue:E M I L I A
“Kneel.”
There’s menace in this voice, and I grew to love the man who carries it like a loaded weapon. Every word is a sharp edge of a knife, sinking into my skin.
Kneel.
Sit.
Open your mouth.
Touch yourself.
Repeat after me: Vicious, I’m yours.
Most married couples fall into a blissful, albeit drowsy domestic routine of laundry, family dinners, and Netflix.
Most married couples are not Vicious and me.
We were different from the beginning. A yin and a yang, fighting over which color took more space, black or pink. We started out as enemies, and I think that, although we are still crazy in love, we will always be rivals on some level. We will always be passionate, and angry, and desperate.
We will always be us.
“I’m sorry, I don’t take orders from people who aren’t my boss,” I say coolly, dropping my funky, colorful bag at the door and erasing the distance between us in wide, confident steps. He is standing in front of me, his Armani suit impeccable, his raven hair slicked back, his icicle blue eyes devouring me in ways that make being eaten alive worth it. He scans the length of me, a slight sneer on his face. I’m still me, even so many years later. The tips of my light brown hair are still cherry-blossom pink. The soles of my shoes are yellow, for Christ’s sake.
“That could be arranged, if you continue your sass.”
“How is that going to work, Vicious? Are you going to re-employ me against my will?” For the past eighteen years, I’ve been managing my own gallery in L.A. A gallery he bought for me shortly before our engagement. I have a career, an income of my own. Truth is, he gave me a push, but the entire journey to where I am today was made by me, and only me, and he knows it.
He cups my cheek, yanks me by the hem of my funky powder blue blouse with little suns into his body and leans down for a kiss. Our lips brush briefly, promising scattered clothes and ragged breaths, just as the door swings open and our son walks in. He slams the door behind him, his eyes still intently glued to his phone.
Vaughn is a spitting image of his dad. So much so, that sometimes it scares me.
At sixteen, he has the walk, talk, and air of Vicious when the latter was a senior in high school. Rangy, strong body, thick-fringed blue eyes, skin so fair he looks like he defies the sun, and cheekbones you could use as a sharp weapon. More than anything, he has that uniquely-pissed facial expression that tells you that he just doesn’t care.
Not about your problems.
Not about your feelings.
And certainly not about what you think about him.
REVIEW
I had the pleasure of reading THE END ZONE when it was originally published in the Team Player anthology, but when I saw that L. J. Shen was planning to republish it on its own with some extended parts....and will a yet unannounced super secret bonus for VICIOUS fans, I jumped at the chance to read it in its new form! :D I'm so glad that I did because while I loved THE END ZONE originally...I love it even more now!
While many of L. J. Shen's other stories are really angsty and her heroes can be rather "dark," THE END ZONE isn't quite like that. There's definitely some angst, and some major drama, but it's a much lighter story and I definitely love L. J.'s regular works, but I also love her lighter materials, too. She writes her characters in a way that I find irresistible. When it came to Jolie and Sage, I immediately was invested in their relationship. I loved their friendship...and boy was I ever rooting for it to turn into something more! Their friendship was wonderful...but their chemistry was undeniable and I love, love, LOVED every single second of it! I loved Jolie, and I loved Sage, too! I also really loved getting to see a bit further into their future with the extended epilogue!!! :D
I absolutely adored THE END ZONE, and I think that it's something that all of her readers will enjoy, and because it isn't as dark as some of her other works, I also think this is one of her books that's going to appeal to everyone! I didn't really read books with darker heroes until I came across L. J.'s VICIOUS, and I know Vicious isn't for everyone (although I'm a little sad for you if you're aren't one of his fangirls because he's my favourite haha)...so I think even if Vicious isn't your cup of tea, Sage and Jolie will be!!! And if Vicious is your cup of tea...you won't want to miss this one because of the lovely VICIOUS epilogue that's included in THE END ZONE...seriously DO NOT MISS THIS...and then come back and talk to me about it because I am so ready to talk about it!
What do you think?
Are you planning to read THE END ZONE?
And what did you think of the extended epilogue for VICIOUS?
Did you enjoy the excerpt that I've share?
Or are you back here to chat about the full epilogue with me? ;)
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